OBAMA AND HIS RELIGION

November 16, 2008

Issues had been raised over the religion of President Barack Obama. During the early stage of his campaign, he declared that he had never been a Muslim. Extreme and destructive comments were fired against Obama which resulted to political arguments between pro and anti Obama. Up to this date, the issue of his true religion is still on the hot seat. I am giving you a brief bibliography of Barack Obama to help you analyze the true religion of the most powerful man in the land.  Here it goes:

The Senator from Illinois defeated Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton and others in the Democratic Primary and Republican John McCain in the national election on Nov. 4th, 2008. His campaign’s great organizational skills and the candidates own uplifting oratory and appeal to voter’s hopes, along with his steady and calm demeanor, ushered in a new era of politics that saw millions of new voters added to the country’s electorate. Obama earned 53% of the popular vote to McCain’s 46% and won an overwhelming Electoral College vote of 364 to 163 with Missouri’s 11 votes still undecided. Barack Obama now becomes the President of the United States of America and probably the most powerful man in the world.

Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. When he was two years old, his parents divorced. His father eventually returned to Kenya, and he saw his son only once more before his death in 1982. 

In his early childhood while growing up with his mother and step-father the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. When Obama was ten he returned to Hawaii under the care of his grandparents, and later his mother, for the better educational opportunities.       

Upon finishing high school, Barack studied for two years at Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University. There he majored in political science, with a specialization in international relations. 

Upon graduation, he worked for a year at newsletter publisher Business International and then moved to Chicago, where he took up community organizing on the city’s South Side. It was during his time spent here that he became a Christian. He left Chicago for three years to study law at Harvard University where he was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude. 

While working one summer at a corporate law firm in 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson, then an associate attorney at the firm; and married her in 1992. They have two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha.

Barack Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, leader in the Illinois state Senate and as a newly elected United States Senator. At the 2004 National Democratic Convention he gave the Keynote Address and has since received wide acclaim and notoriety.

Obama serves on the important Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees legislation and funding for the environment and public works projects throughout the country, including the national transportation bill. He also serves on the Veteran’s Affairs Committee where he is focused on investigating the disability pay discrepancies that have left thousands of Illinois veterans without the benefits they earned. Senator Obama will also serve on the Foreign Relations Committee. 

That was his bibliography. Let me just give you some more facts about Obama.

Obama once said:

 “My father was from Kenya, and a lot of people in his village were Muslim. He didn’t practice Islam. Truth is he wasn’t very religious. He met my mother. My mother was a Christian from Kansas, and they married and then divorced. I was raised by my mother. So, I’ve always been a Christian. The only connection I’ve had to Islam is that my grandfather on my father’s side came from that country. But I’ve never practiced Islam. … For a while, I lived in Indonesia because my mother was teaching there. And that’s a Muslim country. And I went to school. But I didn’t practice. But what I do think it does is it gives me insight into how these folks think, and part of how I think we can create a better relationship with the Middle East and that would help make us safer is if we can understand how they think about issues.

Facts of Obama’s childhood:

Obama’s Kenyan birth father: In Islam, religion passes from the father to the child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936–1982) was a Muslim who named his boy Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Only Muslim children are named “Hussein”.

Obama’s Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In fact, as Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to the New York Times: “My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim.” An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that “All the relatives of Barry’s father were very devoted Muslims.”

The Catholic school: The Associated Press reports that “documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim” while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. The Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was “listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school.” A blogger who goes by “An American Expat in Southeast Asia” found that “Barack Hussein Obama was registered under the name ‘Barry Soetoro’ serial number 203 and entered the Franciscan Asisi Primary School on 1 January 1968 and sat in class 1B. … Barry’s religion was listed as Islam.”

The public school: The Los Angeles Times learned from Indonesians familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he “was registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended.” The Toronto Star visited the Jakarta public school Obama attended and found that “Three of his teachers have said he was enrolled as a Muslim.” Although it cautions that “With the school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on people’s shifting memories,” It cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari, retracting her earlier certainty about Obama’s being registered as a Muslim.

Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies, thereby revealing he was a Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day attended religious classes according to their faith. Indeed, Obama still retains knowledge from that class: The New York Times, reports that Obama “recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent.”

Mosque attendance: Obama’s half-sister recalled that the family attended the mosque “for big communal events.” Watson learned from childhood friends that “Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque.” Barker found that “Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers.” One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama “was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong” (a garment associated with Muslims).

Piety: Obama himself says that while living in Indonesia, a Muslim country, he “didn’t practice [Islam],” implicitly acknowledging a Muslim identity. Indonesians differ in their memories of him. One, Rony Amir, describes Obama as “previously quite religious in Islam.”

Obama’s having been born and raised a Muslim and having left the faith to become a Christian make him neither more nor less qualified President of the United States. But if he was born and raised a Muslim and is now hiding that fact, this points to a major deceit, a fundamental misrepresentation about himself that has profound implications about his character and his suitability as president.

JOBS IN DUBAI

Looking for Jobs in Dubai? I am giving you the top 25 job sites which might be of help to you. But I do not assure you that through these job sites you can find your ideal job. These are the following:

1. Bayt.com. is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 26,000 employers and 1,824,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, Pakistan, North Africa and around the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels.

2. Gulftalent.com is the leading job site for professional in the Middle East and Gulf region. It helps you search for jobs with top employers and recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Dubai (UAE in general).

3. JobsinDubai.com offers various levels of employment opportunities from junior staffing to management positions. All are available in many locations throughout the Middle East.

4. Monstergulf.com Whether you’re thinking about a new job, new career, a new city or a new direction… Monster helps you explore the possibilities and find the opportunities that are right for you.

5. Charterhouse.ae offers coverage across the entire Middle East region. It currently has offices located in the economic hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It also has dedicated teams that service Bahrain and Qatar.

6. ClaredonParker.com provides innovative staffing solutions across the Middle East and India. Established in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 1994, Clarendon Parker Middle East FZ LLC (CPME) is headquartered in Dubai Internet City with additional offices in Dubai Airport Free Zone, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

7. Naukrigulf.com is a forum where employers, hiring consultants and job seekers can exchange information, quickly, effectively and inexpensively. It has a platform built to add value to the recruitment process by bridging the gap between employers and job seekers, seamlessly integrating their needs and providing the right job, to the right candidate, at the right time.

8. Nadia-me.com pioneers in the field of Recruitment, Training and Consulting in the Middle East. This website is designed to assist you in applying for jobs.

9. Headhunt-me.com connects high quality jobseekers from around the world with top employers from across the Middle East as quickly and effortlessly as possible. The unique combination of its advanced proprietary technology and network of leading recruiters enables both employer and jobseeker to search faster, wider and more efficiently for the perfect candidate or job than ever before.

10. IMG Recruitment.com commits to perform its duties in high spirit and enthusiasm to achieve its best GOALS and to guarantee the satisfaction of its clients and candidates.

11. IQSelection.com is a management executive recruitment company, which provides focused recruitment services to clients and candidates throughout the Gulf region.

12. BAC Middle East.com has nearly 30 years of experience in the UAE in recruitment industry. It believes that people are the building blocks of all productive and successful businesses.

13. SOS recruitment Consultants is pioneer in providing Human Resources related services to the UAE and Middle Eastern market for over thirty-one years and works across mid to senior level assignments. It has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait.

14. Antal.com is the leader in EMEA & Asia executive search & selection with a network of over 50 fully-staffed offices in 24 countries, recruiting talent in a range of industry sectors & skill functions. Since inception in 1993 Antal has placed executives in over 75 countries and offers clients a choice of recruitment & staffing solutions from Retained Executive Search, Search & Selection to Contingent Recruitment in Permanent, Interim & Contract/Temporary Staffing.

15. Wadijobs.com Wadi Jobs & Consultancy is a privately owned company. Its staff has over 10 years of placement, recruitment & consultancy experience. It provides a professional and personal service to its clients in order to make the process of hiring/recruiting as efficient as possible.

16. Jobs-me.com For more than 25 years, Secretarial and Business Services (SBS) has employed its expertise to render support services in the field of Consultancy, Recruitment and Job Placement. Jobs-me.com provides services both for commercial and industrial companies in the recruitment of their staff economically and expeditiously.

17. Dubai-recruitment.com is a South African and International workforce provider for employment not just in Dubai but for around the Gulf countries as well.

18. Exec-appointments.com is the leading executive jobsite for Director and management jobs in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the rest of the world. Its global executive job database covers a wide range of senior management job from major employers, executive recruiters and executive search firms. It advertises permanent career opportunities as well as contract and interim jobs in the private and public sectors.

19. Carefor.com is in one roof with CARE GROUP and CARE Institute of Educational & Management Services that has been marketing its own particular blend of recruitment services to oil & gas industry of Abu Dhabi since 1992. It has earned an enviable reputation as a specialist provider of Technical and Non-Technical personnel.

20. Gulfbankers.com is part of Forum International Group of Companies established in 1997 with head office in Dubai. With our 10 years experience in Executive Search and Consultancy business it became a valuable partner to most of the leading banks and financial institutions in the region.

21. ITpeople.in IT career and job portal site.

22. Jobtrackme.com undertakes Recruitment assignments in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Consequently it has a healthy bank of both candidates and clients in these geographical areas.

23. Experts.ae is a leading management & technology consulting firm based in prestigious new offices in central Abu Dhabi. It is recognized for its technical & functional expertise in Recruitment, Outsourcing, IT implementation, customization, upgrade & integration of business solutions. It has now over 100 consultants specializing in various vertical market sectors, ensuring that whatever your resource requirement, they will be able to assist you in finding the right solution.

24. Mybetterfuture.com Jobs in UAE, Dubai, Sharjah and Middle East. Explore new job opportunities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Ajman, UAE, Middle East and Gulf where employment agencies, headhunters and recruiters are waiting to respond to your resume/cv with the available job vacancies in multinational corporations, big and small size business organizations.

25. Jobscan.ae Since 1991, Jobscan has been servicing blue-chip clients and local conglomerates across the UAE to meet their human resource requirements.